New Elements of War Video Game Uses Weather As Weaponry

What happens when the government's attempts at controlling weather go horribly awry and cause havoc in global weather systems? Why...weather warfare, of course! It's the premise of a new game in which armies use weather systems, like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and so on to wipe each other out. BLDBLOG tells us about the game, called Elements of War, which comes out February 2011. The game's description:

..."a real time strategy game unlike any other - where armies manipulate the forces of nature to rain down destruction on their foes or gain a tactical advantage by transforming the battlefield with hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. Players will battle across the United States in this futuristic title, which features dozens of real-world and unconventional units...Set on Earth in the not-so-distant future, Elements of War focuses on a conflict for the survival of humanity that ensues after a secret military weather control experiment sets in motion a near-complete global climate collapse. Three factions battle on American soil for control of fearsome weather-based weapons, granting them the power to use tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, torrential rains and other forces of nature as weapons of war."

We don't know exactly what the game looks like or how it is played yet since it's not out for another two months, and even though it doesn't necessarily use guns it's still focused on war and destruction, so it's not necessarily a game that you might want to wholeheartedly support. But it's an interesting new strategy for an old human vice. And apparently it's supposed to be somewhat accurate in terms of how the weather system would wipe an area out. BLDBLOG says the game promises "realistic destruction physics." If that's the case, then given how insanely popular these war games are, then perhaps it's also a potential learning opportunity too...who knows.

It's still fascinating that shifts in our global weather patterns and real world problems like whole countries disappearing under ocean waves have gathered enough attention to become (sort of tangentially) inspiration for a video game.